Health & BeautyNutrition & Diet

Low-Carb Meals at Fast-Food Restaurants

Whenever I’m on the road, or when I want to slip out of the office during lunchtime for something other than the cheese and hotdogs that I normally take for lunch (while I’m on this Low-Carb diet)… I like to know my options going in.

Do you know what the Low-Carb choices are at fast-food restaurants these days?

fast-food-by-heiwa4126

Here’s what I found…

 

Shown here are the Total Calories and the Total Net Carbs (calculated by subtracting the total Fiber from the total Carbohydrates).

I used “less than 20 Net Carbs” as the cut-off. To view complete nutrition facts, simply click on the item itself.

[Ranked in order of the lowest Carbs…. The first number is Total Calories & the second number is Net Carbs.]

 

Burger King
Lunch & Dinner:
Low Carb Whopper Jr. -1
Low Carb Whopper Jr. w/ cheese – 2
Low Carb Whopper – 3
Low Carb Double Whopper – 3
Low Carb Tendergrill Chicken Sandwich (served with lettuce and tomato) -3
Low Carb Whopper w/ cheese – 5
Low Carb Double Whopper w/cheese – 5
Low Carb Angus Steak Burger (served with lettuce and tomato)- 5
Low Carb BK Double Stacker – 5
Low Carb BK Triple Stacker – 6
Low Carb BK Quad Stacker -6
Tendergrill Chicken Garden Salad, Ken’s Light Italian Dressing w/o Garlic Parmesan Croutons -13
Chicken Tenders – 5 piece w/ Ranch dipping sauce -14
Low Carb BK Veggie Burger (served with lettuce and tomato) -19
Low Carb New BK Big Fish (served with lettuce and tartar sauce) -20
Chicken Tenders – 8 piece w/o dipping sauce -21

*NOTE: Burger King does not provide Calorie information for their Low-Carb options. All of their Low-Carb meals are served “w/o mayo, ketchup, and bun”.

 

Hardees
 

Breakfast:
Bacon (2 strips) – 45; 0
Sausage Patty – 150; 1
Scrambled Egg – 160; 1
Folded Egg – 80; 1
Breakfast Ham slice – 60; 1
Country Ham slice – 60; 1
Loaded Omlet – 270; 2
Low-Carb Breakfast Bowl – 620; 4
Country Steak – 240; 9
Chicken Fillet – 230; 14
Grits – 110; 16

Lunch & Dinner:
Low-Carb 1/3 lb. Thickburger – 420; 3
Fried Chicken Leg – 170; 15
Mashed Potatoes – 90; 16
Cole Slaw – 170; 18

 

Jack In The Box
 

Lunch & Dinner:
Side Salad – 60; 3
Chicken Club Salad – 300; 9
Asian Chicken Salad – 140; 14

Dressings:
Lite Ranch Dressing – 190; 3
Bacon Ranch Dressing – 320; 4
Creamy Southwest Dressing – 270; 4
Ranch Dressing – 390; 4
Low fat Balsamic Dressing – 40; 6

 

Krystal
 

Breakfast:
Low-Carb Sausage Scrambler – 600; 1
Low-Carb Bacon Scrambler – 370; 3
Krystal Sunriser – 240; 12

Lunch & Dinner:
Chik’n Bites Salad* – 290; 8
Bacon Cheeseburger – 190; 14
Plain Pup – 170; 14
Krystal Cheeseburger – 180; 15
Krystal Chili – 200; 15
Chik’n Bites – 310; 15
Chili Cheese Pup – 210; 15
Krystal Burger – 160; 16
Corn Pup (hotdog) – 260; 18
*Salad Dressing information not supplied by Krystal.

 

McDonald's
 

Breakfast:
Sausage Patty – 170; 2
Scrambled Eggs (two) – 190; 5
Hash Brown – 140; 13

Lunch & Dinner:
Side Salad – 20; 3
Caesar Salad (without chicken) – 90; 6
Bacon Ranch Salad (without chicken) – 140; 7
Bacon Ranch Salad with Grilled Chicken – 260; 9
Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken – 220; 9
4-piece Chicken McNuggets* – 170; 10
Asian Salad (without chicken) – 140; 11
6-piece Chicken McNuggets* – 250; 15
Asian Salad with Grilled Chicken – 290; 17

Dressings:
Newman’s Own Creamy Caesar Dressing – 190; 4
Newman’s Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette – 40; 4
Newman’s Own Low Fat Family Recipe Italian Dressing – 60; 8
Newman’s Own Ranch Dressing – 170; 9

*NOTE: With McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets, you need to be careful about which Dipping Sauce you choose. Most are very high in Carbs. The lowest are: Spicy Buffalo Sauce (0 Net Carbs), Creamy Ranch Sauce (3 Net Carbs) and Hot Mustard Sauce (8 Net Carbs).

 

Wendy's
 

Lunch & Dinner:
1/4 lb. Hamburger Patty – 210; 0
Caesar Side Salad – 70; 1
Genoa Salami (3 slices) – 100; 1
Black Forest Ham (4 slices) – 70; 1
Ultimate Chicken Grill Fillet – 120; 2
Roasted Turkey Breast (4 slices) – 80; 5
Caesar Chicken Salad – 180; 5
Side Salad – 35; 6
Chicken BLT Salad – 340; 8
Crispy Chicken Patty – 190; 10
5 Piece Nuggets* – 220; 13
Mandarin Chicken Salad – 170; 15
Spicy Chicken Fillet – 260; 16
Homestyle Chicken Fillet – 260; 17
Mandarin Orange Cup – 80; 18
Small Chili – 220; 18

Dressings:
Reduced Fat Creamy Ranch – 100; 0
Blue Cheese – 260; 3
Creamy Ranch – 230; 5
Thousand Island – 260; 8
Italian Vinaigrette – 140; 9

*NOTE: With Wendy’s Chicken Nuggets, you need to be careful about which Dipping Sauce you choose. Most are very high in Carbs. The lowest are: Heartland Ranch Dipping Sauce (1 Net Carb), Wild Buffalo Ranch Dipping Sauce (2 Net Carbs), Spicy Southwest Chipotle Dipping Sauce (5 Net Carbs), Honey Mustard Nugget Sauce (6 Net Carbs).

 

A Word About Salads & Dressings…

When you’re figuring the total number of Carbs in salads, you have to add in the Carbs from the dressing. That is, unless you do the Atkins Diet like Jim & I do the Atkins Diet…

To keep it fun (and less restricting), we don’t count any sauces or condiments in our Carb counts for the day. I know it’s not the “right” thing to do, but it is the only way we could stay on this diet.

Plus, even though we’re not sticking to the “official” Atkins plan, we’re still losing some serious pounds because we’re eating FAR fewer Carbs than we used to. Not to mention, fewer Calories and less Fat. To each his own. (Oh, and don’t forget… skip the optional croutons & crackers!)

 

More About Low-Carb Dieting